Machine for shaping and fitting springs



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C. FA. SHOEMAKER. Machine for Shaping and Fitting Springs.

No. 223,454. Patented Jan. 13, 1880.

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G. P. SHOEM'AKER. Machine for Shaping and Fitting Springs.4 PatentedJan. 13, 1880` NPETERS, PHDTD-UTHOGRAPMER, WASHINGTON, D, C.

UNITED STATES CHARLES F. SHOEMAKER, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

MACHINE FOR SHAPING AND FITTING SPRINGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part f Letters Patent No. 223,454, dated January13, 1880.

Application filed July 1,1879.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, CHARLES F. SHOE- MAKER,of Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have inventeda certain new and Improved Machine for Shaping and FittingCarriage-Springs 5 and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and complete description of the same.

This invention relates to a machinefor bending or shaping the leaves orplates of carriagesprings, whereby the series of leaves or platescomposing the spring are adapted to each other in their curvilinealrelation.

The construction of the said machine and the practical operation of thesame will be found fully set forth and described in the followingspecification, and illustrated by the drawings making a partthereof, inwhich- Figure l is a side elevation of the machine. Fig. 2 is alongitudinal section. Fig. 3 is a section al plan view; Fig. 4 is avertical transverse section. Figs. 6, 7,8, and 9 are enlarged views ofdetached sections. Fig. 5 will be referred to.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts in the several views.

Within a suitably-constructed frame, A, Fig. 1, is arranged acarriage,B,the ends of which are respectively adapted to the guides or ways C onthe inner side of the ends of the frame. Said carriage has given to it avertical reciprocating movement by the following devices Transversely ineach end of the frame A is journaled a shaft, D, Figs. 3 and 4,immediately under the ends of the carriage.

From the shafts project a pair of arms, E, Figs.

2 and 4. Said arms are attached to the ends of the carriage,respectively, by links F, and form, in connection with the arms, atoggle or knee joint, as seen in Fig. 2. The two kneejoints areconnected to each other by a link, Gr, whereby the joints are workedtogether by a lever, H, for operating the carriage, for a purposepresently shown. The vcarriage B, alluded f to, is hollow, and to thetop thereof is secured a former, I, consisting of a metal bar. Themiddle of the former is supported on a standard, J, screwed into the topof the carriage. Each end of the former terminates in an eye, a', Fig.5, whereby the ends are pivoted, respectively, in the clips K, Figs. 1and 2. To the clips are pivoted adjusting screws L, projecting downthrough slots into the hollow of the carriage, to the top of which theyare made fast by a lint above and below the top, as seen in Fig. 2.

Between the central standard, J, supporting the former, and the adjusting-screws L is an auxiliar i standard, c, which is also secured 4tothe top of the carriage in the slots by means of a nut above and underthe slot, as are the adjusting-screws L, above referred to.

M is a shaft having its bearin gs in the top of the carriage, from nearthe middle of which project upward'iingers or guards N above the former,and against the side of which they rest. The said fingers have a lateralvibratory movement by means of an arm, O, Fig. 4, on the end of theshaft.

To the arm is attached one end of a rod, P, also indicated by the dottedlines l in Figs. l and 2. The lower end of the rod is made fast to thefloor. Hence, as the carriage moves upward the rod draws upon the armand rotates the shaft, thereby causing the fingers to recede from theside of the'forni er. Per contra, as the carriage descends the rodpushes up the arm, causing the fingers to rest against the former, asshown in the drawings. The purpose of the fingers will hereinafter beshown.

In each side of the Lipper part of the frame A are elongated curvilinealopenings Q, Fig. l, in each ot' which is fitted a sliding journalbox, R,in which the ends of the shaft S have respectively their bearings, asseen in Fig. 4. To said shaft S is secured a roller-carriage,- to whichis given a reciprocating longitudinal movement by connecting-rods T,attached to the shaft, and respectively to the cranks U of the shaftV,carrying the cog-wheel W, whereby the cranks are revolved by theengagement of said cog-wheel with other appropriate gearing.

The roller-carrier above alluded to consists of a pair of cheeks, AandB", Fig. 4, secured to the shaft by set-screws n'. An enlarged insideview of a cheek is shown in Fig. 6, and an upper edge view of the samein Fig. 7. In

the inner side of the cheeks are made dovetail radial grooves C', Figs.6 and 7, in which are fitted, respectively, the slides 1, 2, 3, and 4. Adetached view of the slide 1 is shown in Fig. 8. Each of said slides isprovided with an adjusting-screw, d, for moving them in the grooves.Said grooves and slides may be more or less in num ber.

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Passing upward through each of the slides is a stem, D'. The lower endof the stem is a plate, and is retained in the hollow ofthe slide by astrap, E', under which it is free to move longitudinally in the slide.The upper part of the stem is reduced in size, forming a rod, aroundwhich is a spring, F'. The upper end of the stem projects through theend of the slide, and is prevented from falling therefrom by a pin, e,Fig. 8.

To the lower end of each of the slides is secured a roller, G', providedwith a flange, f, Fig. 9.

Both cheeks of the carrier are substantially alike, and when secured onthe shaft S the grooved sides face each other, a-s shown in Fig. 4, inwhich it will be seen that the cheeks and rollers approximate near toeach other, but do not touch, there being' a narrow space between them,for a purpose presently shown.

Longitudinally on the top of the frame A is secured a beam, H', Figs. land 2. Projecting downward through each end of the beam is a hanger, l',having in the side thereof a groove, wherein is fitted abe1idi1igarm,J', depending therefrom into theframe below the rollers, aswill be seen in the drawings. Said bending-arms J' are prevented fromdropping from the hangers by a set screw passing through a slot in theend of the arm into the hanger. The slot permits the arm to movevertically, and the arm is forced downward by a spring, K', the ends ofwhich rest upon the top of the arms, the central part being confined bythe screw L', and more or less tension given to the spring thereby.

The practical operation of the above-described machine is substantiallyas follows: As hereinbefore, said, the purpose of the inachine is forbending the several leaves composing a spring, Fig. 5, which lnay bemore or less in number, and of different lengths and widths. ferred to,is given the curvature desired for that of vthe spring, or, rather, forone of the leaves thereof, which let it' be supposed to be the rst orlongest one of the number. rlhis curvature is readily obtained to theformer by means of the adjustingscrews L and the adjustable standards Jand c c, above referred to, by which means any desirable degree ofcurvature can be given to the former.

The leaves or plates to be bent are heated in a furnace, from which oneis taken andlaid lengthwise upon the former, as indicated by the dottedline x 00,-Figs. l and 2.

That the heated leaf may lie straight upon the former is the purpose ofthe fingers or guards N, against which the edge of 'the leaf is laidwhen placing it flatwise thereon.

Immediately upon laying the leaf upon the former the carriage B is movedupward by means of the lever H operating the mechanism above describedfor actuating' said carriage. As soon as the carriage begins to moveupward the fingers or guards N move back from the side of the former, tomake way for To this end the former I, above re` the rollers on thatside thereof, at the saine instant the ends of the leaf come in contactwith the ends of the arms J'. As the carriage continues to rise the endsofthe leaf are bent down upon the former, and at the same time the leafcomes in contact with the rollers, (to which a reciprocating movementhad been pre viously given by the cranks U U,) and by them is rolleddown upon the former. The pressure of the rollers upon the metal as theyroll backward and forward upon it conforms it to the shape of theformer. After a few passes of the rollers over the leaf the carriage Bis then lowered and the Vleaf removed from the former, to be replaced byanother. As the carriage begins to recede from the rollers the fin gersor guards N at the same time begin to assume an upright position, and bythe time the carriage has reached its lowest point the fingers arebrought against the side of the former, Afor the purpose abovespecified.

It will be observed that the rollers of the cheek A' of theroller-carrier run along' upon one side of the leaf, near the edgethereof, and that the rollers of the cheek B roll along` upon theopposite side, near the edge, thereby leaving a narrow space along themiddle of the leaf from end to end untouched by the rollers, and thatthe flanges of the rollers while in operationextend below the edges ofthe former, thereby keepin g the leaf properly in place on the formerwhile being acted upon by the rollers. The cheeks of the roller-carrier,being free to vibrate during their reciprocating' movement, permit therollers to readily conform to the curve of the former while being forceddown upon the leaf thereon by the spring F', the tension of which forcesthe rollers upon the leaf with more or less energy, aceording` to theforce of the upward movement of the carriage B, that may be exerted bythe operator by means of the lever H, which may be more or less, as the.nature of the case may demand. Furthermore, the pressure 0f the rollersupon the former and leaf can be increased or diminished by screwing downor up the slides l, 2, 3, and 4 by means of the adjusting-screws d,above alluded to, thereby bringing the rollers nearer to. or distantfrom the former. The principal object of the slide, however, is toregulate the position of the rollers in respect to the curvature of theformer-that is to say, to adjust and conform the line or range of therollers to the curvature of the former, so that the several rollersshall act with equal pressure upon the leaf.

The "sliding journal-boxes of the shaft carrying the cheeks of rollersmove in a curved opening, thereby causing the shaft and the` cheeks tomove in a curvilineal reciprocating manner, and at the saine time havinga vibratory movement with the shaft. This freedom of movement allows thecheeks of rollers or roller-carrier to readily and easily adjust therollers to the differences in the curve required for the leaves ofvariously-shaped springs,

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which is considerable; but the cheeks of rollers can be adjusted to meetthis difference, and the former adjusted in conformity therewith.

As above said, the two sets of rollers do not roll over the whole wid thof the plate or leaf.

There is a space between the two sets of roll i and operated upon bythem, which could not be done if the rollers extended across the leaf,as the bending-arms J' could not be adjusted to engage the ends of aleaf shorter than the length of the cheeks, as aforesaid.

N' is a counter-balance for assisting in the operation of the carriageB.

As hereinbefore said, the cheeks of the roller-carrier are secured tothe shaft S by means of' set-screws, thereby rendering them adjustableon the shaft in order to adapt the rollers to different-widthsprings-that is to say, the cheeks can be moved closer to or fartherfrom each other, according to the width of the leaves for the springs.

The springs F' on the stems of the rollers allow a ready adaptation ofthe several rollers to the curvature of the former, and prevent unduestrain being exerted upon any particular roller in excess of that of theothers.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

l. In machines for bending and shaping plates for carriage-springs, incombination with the rollers G', a roller-carrier consisting of thecheeks A' B', secured to a rock-shaft having its axial bearings insliding boxes R B, fitted in curvilineal openings in the frame A, forobtaining to the said carriera rocking and curvilineal action, andpitmen andrcranks U U, for imparting a reciprocating movement to saidcarrier, substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth. 5o

2. In machines for making carriage-springs, the combination, with therollers G', a rollercarrier consisting of the cheeks A' B', arrangedupon a rock-shaft in such manner that said cheeks have a parallel facialrelation to each other, and radial slides l 2 3 4t and their respectiveadjusting-screws d, substantially in the manner as described, and forthe purpose specified.

3. In combination with the slides 1 2 3 4 of 6o the cheeks A' B', thestems D', springs F', and rollers G', substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

4. Arranged in relation to the roller-carrier in two parts, hereindescribed, and in combination therewith and with the carriage B, theadjustable bending-arms J', substantially as set forth, and for thepurpose specied.

5. In machines for making springs, in combination with the former I androllers G', the cheeks A' B', provided with set-screws n', for adjustingsaid cheeks upon the rockfshaft S, as and for the purpose specified.

o'. In machines for bending and fitting plates for springs, thecombination of thecarriage B, carrying the adjustable former I,guard-fingers N, and shaft M, `knee-joints, link G, and lever or othersuitable mechanism for imparting a reciprocating movement to saidcarriage, substantially as described, and 8o for the purpose set forth.v

oHARLEs F. sHoEMAKEn.

Witnesses:

W. H. BURRIDGE, J. H. BURRIDGE.

